


do you wanna build a snowman

by hailingstars



Series: simply having a wonderful christmas time [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Buried Alive, F/M, Gen, Snow, Snowmen, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Uncle Happy Hogan, but more like step-dad happy, except fun, happy and may are clueless, snowmen building contest, stark family competition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailingstars/pseuds/hailingstars
Summary: “Oh good,” says Pepper. “I knew it wouldn’t be very long before something cute and fun would get turned into a competition.”“Just a friendly one,” says Mr. Stark. He squeezes Peter’s shoulder. “Pete and I versus the rest of you.”“And who’s supposed to judge?” asks May.“I think we’re all mature enough to be honest about who’s got the better snow people by the end of the day.”“You do?” Morgan pipes up.ORHappy and May are clueless, and the family has a snowmen building contest.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: simply having a wonderful christmas time [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041610
Comments: 11
Kudos: 149





	do you wanna build a snowman

Peter’s pulled from his dreams by a finger repeatedly, rhythmically, stabbing him on the forehead. 

He groans, digs his head into his pillow, and tries to sink his body deep into the couch cushions, hoping it will stop the pestering. It doesn’t work. The jabbing moves to the back of his head.

“Morgan,” he mutters. “Not yet. Too early.” 

“Guess again.”

Peter pops his head up from his pillow at the sound of a familiar voice. 

“May,” he blinks, and rubs the sleep out of his eyes and sits up, letting his blanket fall to the floor by his feet. He vaguely remembers the night before, staring at his cellphone, waiting for his aunt to arrive, then giving up on her arrival and crashing on the couch. “I thought you were getting here last night.” 

“Since when do our plans ever work out the way we think they will?” 

Peter laughs, and swipes his hair from his forehead. “That’s a good point.” 

May narrows her eyes and reaches out her hand, plucking a clump oats from his hair. “Do I want to know?” 

“Oh yeah,” says Peter, “You can add oranges to that list of things I’m allergic to. I looked like a strawberry.”

“I’m not surprised,” she says, with a laugh. She fluffs his hair, running her fingers through it to pick out more stray pieces of dry oatmeal. “Remember when all we had to worry about was asthma?”

“Oh the simple days.” 

  
The Stark’s living room grows silent, and Peter knows who’s voice they’re waiting to chime in. Reflecting on the simple days always means reflecting on Ben. There’s always an empty space in the conversations between them. It’s there always, but it’s louder during times like these, times where they’re together and remembering. 

Peter wonders what Ben might think about their strange, new family, their family seemed to be assembled with broken and mismatched parts. He’d like it, he decides, and when he returns May’s smile, he knows she feels the same way.

“You having a good Christmas?” she asks him. 

“You mean between all the throwing up, broken bones, crazy rabid birds, and uh, oh, the death of my beloved car?” Peter shrugs. “Yeah, it’s been pretty great. I told MJ I love her.” 

“You did?” May’s face lights up, and she sits on the couch next to him. “Tell me everything.” 

“Well I was drunk,” says Peter. “And puking.” 

“You told her on the eggnog night?” asks May. She hits his arm. “And waited this long to tell me?” 

“Sorry? It’s been really busy!” says Peter, and before he gets hit another time, adds, “she said it back… well she texted it back, but that’s the same.”

“It is the same,” May agrees, and Peter nods, secretly relieved to have her reassurance. “See, I told you, didn’t I? You two… you two are great for each other. I ship it.” 

“May,” says Peter, then releases a breath. “Please don’t say ship.” 

“What’s wrong with my saying ship?” 

“Shipping is for fictional characters, like Han and Leia,” Peter tries to explain, without letting all his nerdiness show. “How weird would it be if I told you, oh I ship you and Happy?” 

“I don’t think that’s weird,” says May. “I’d be very happy to know how you felt about us as a c-” 

May doesn’t finish her sentence, although Peter could guess at where it was going, because Mr. Stark and Happy chose that exact moment to walk into the living and interrupt their conversation. 

“Tony,” says May, changing topic. “There was oatmeal in my boy’s hair.” 

“Yep. You missed Peter the swamp monster. It was adorable,” says Mr. Stark. “I’ll send you pictures.” 

“You have pictures?!?” 

“That’s the first rule of being a parent,” says Mr. Stark. “Always take pictures.” 

“He’s right, kiddo,” says May.

“Why do you two only ever agree when it involves embarrassing me?” 

“Well that’s the second rule,” Mr. Stark tells him. “And our god given right as parents.” 

Peter rolls his eyes, and picks his phone up from the floor. He catches up on text messages while Happy and May greet each other, and while the three of them talk about things Peter deems as boring and therefore has no need to pay attention to. 

He only lifts his face from the screen when the three of them begin discussing Happy needing to venture back into the city a second time, after having forgotten one of the presents behind in the apartment. 

“Oh, Happy,” says Peter. “While you’re there can you grab my headphones?” 

“Uh, I’m not going to _your_ apartment,” says Happy. “I’m going to my apartment.” 

“What?” asks Peter, scrunching his face with confusion. He looks back and forth between Happy and May, trying to figure out what’s going on. Behind them, Mr. Stark’s shaking his head at him, which only makes Peter even more confused. “But we all live in the same apartment.”

“No, we don’t.” 

“Yeah,” says Peter. “Wait, you still pay for your apartment? When’s the last time you’ve even been there?” 

Happy open and closes his mouth several times. “I go home.” 

“When?” 

Happy and May drift away from each other, and seem to be unsure about what to do with their arms. Happy mutters something about getting some bags out of the car, and May says something about making sure he doesn’t get lost, like Peter currently is, as he has no idea what has just happened. 

“Kid,” says Mr. Stark, once Happy and May have left the room. He shakes his head. “You’re supposed to let them figure it out on their own.” 

“What?” 

“You told them that they’re living together.” 

“They didn’t know?” asks Peter. “How could they not know?” 

Mr. Stark laughs at his expense, pats his head, and says, “Never change, Parker.” 

*

Morgan saves them all from the morning of awkwardness by demanding everyone go outside and build snowmans, and since Morgan is the overlord of the Stark household, they all find themselves in the backyard, building snow people. 

Or, most of them are building. 

Happy’s standing over Pepper’s lawn chair, adding the eye decorations and eventually a carrot for the nose. The buttons go on last, in the middle section of the chair, then Happy rubs his hands together and looks over his lazy piece of snow art with pride. 

“That’s not a snowman,” says Peter. 

“Of course it is,” says Happy. “He’s just tired. Leave him alone, he’s relaxing.” 

“Is he relaxing?” asks Peter. “Or are you just too lazy to build a proper one?” 

“You know what they say, Pete,” says Mr. Stark, walking up from behind him and clasping him on the shoulders. “Art imitates reality.” 

Peter can barely feel the physical contact through all the many, many layers of jackets and long sleeve shirts that were forced onto him by May, Mr. Stark, and even Happy, who claims he’s traumatized by the whole Peter almost turning into a spider-sickle situation. 

“Didn’t think I was so lazy when you promoted me to head of security.” 

“That’s forehead of security,” says Mr. Stark. He keeps talking before Happy can say anything. “How about we make snowman building more interesting?”

“Oh good,” says Pepper. “I knew it wouldn’t be very long before something cute and fun would get turned into a competition.” 

“Just a friendly one,” says Mr. Stark. He squeezes Peter’s shoulder. “Pete and I versus the rest of you.” 

“And who’s supposed to judge?” asks May. 

“I think we’re all mature enough to be honest about who’s got the better snow people by the end of the day.” 

“You do?” Morgan pipes up. She hadn’t been spared from the layering of coats, either, and Peter can barely see her eyes between her hat and scarf. 

“Sure, Morgunna.” 

“But remember when we played monopoly?” she asks. “And you were the banker? And mommy kept catching you -”

“Okay, okay, the Little Miss might have a point,” says Mr. Stark. “Pete can be the judge. He’s too fair to not be objective.” 

Peter wants to object, but everyone agrees to the terms before he can get the words out. The thing is, he knows how competitive things can turn when Mr. Stark declares a competition. He knows the pressure, and he knows he’s bound to make someone petty enough to throw him into the freezing lake. 

He sighs as him and Mr. Stark starts making their plans. It’s inevitable, he supposes, and so he doesn’t dwell. 

*

So they’re a little off script, headed down a road not completely towards the intended destination. 

The goal that had been decided on by everyone was a family of snow people. 

And they try at first, but their snow man turns into a snow robot and everything goes downhill after that. 

The snow robot has one job, to stand outside of the snow fortress and guard it. It takes a certain level of skill and precision to construct the feat, a fortress large enough to house Gerald, and Peter’s pretty impressed by his and Mr. Stark’s work by the time they’re finished. 

He considers trying to coax Gerald inside of it, but Mr. Stark seems to be more concerned with adding a watchtower to their already amazing snow art than he is with trying to make it a functional house for the alpaca. 

Peter’s certain they’ll win. There’s no doubt in his mind, until he sees a family of snow jedi, complete with robes and Morgan’s toy lightsabers as hands. 

“Whoa,” says Peter. “Those are so awesome!” 

Mr. Stark points his finger at the snow family. “That’s cheating.” 

“Is not,” says Morgan. “Petey loves Star Wars, so we built him some snow jedi.” 

“That’s bribing the judge.” 

“It’s _catering_ to the judge,” says May. “It’s very different.” 

“Sorry, Mr. Stark, but they win.” 

Morgan gives May and Pepper each a high five, cheers and does a victory dance, while Peter notices for the first time that Happy is nowhere to be found and assumes he left on his trip back to the city early to avoid the inevitable Stark family competition and the fallout it’s sure to create. 

“You’re a traitor. After all we’ve been through? After you almost collapsed the north wall?” 

“That was an accident!” 

“Sure, buddy, but I’ll think twice about having you on my team next time.” 

“Oh, cool, maybe I’ll actually win sometime, then.” 

The push comes before Peter can react, and he curses his useless spider senses as he falls into the fortress’s north wall, actually crushing it that time. The ceiling caves in on him, and for a few seconds, he’s buried alive in the glittering cold snow and wondering why on earth he ever agreed to be the judge. 

A hand locks around his arm and pulls him to his feet. After shaking all the snow off him and out of his eyes, Peter sees Mr. Stark grinning at him. 

“Uncalled for.” 

“That’s what you get for your betrayal.” 

Peter gives him a shove back, wipes more snow off his coat, and follows his family inside, where he sheds off his many layers and plops down in front of the fireplace to heat up. Despite being nearly killed by snow for the second time, Peter thinks it’s been a pretty good day. 

*

When the Christmas movies end, and Morgan’s asleep with half a cookie locked in her hand, and Mr. Stark and Pepper decide it’s finally time to carry her up to her room, it’s just Peter and May down in the living room, listening to the fire crackle and watching the snowfall out of the window. 

It’s quiet, like it had been that morning, and Peter cringes when he recalls the awkwardness earlier. The bringing up of the living together, and the way it had made May and his probably step-father scatter. 

“Uh, May,” says Peter. “Just so you know, I do ship it.” 

She titles her head at him. 

“You and Happy,” says Peter. “You two are good for each other. He’s a good guy, even if he’s not the best at building snowmen.” 

May smiles, and looks back out the window. “He’s not going to renew his lease on his apartment. We talked about it this morning, after um, our realization… I assume that’s okay with you?” 

“I thought that’s what was already happening,” says Peter, with a laugh. Then he remembers something else that’s very important. “Do you think he’ll swing by our apartment and grab my headphones? If I call him?” 

“He already planned on it.” 

“ _Good_ ,” says Peter. 

Peter rests his head against the back of the couch, trying to soak up the moment, to savor it. It hits him that he hasn’t had the chance to worry about something as petty as not having headphones in a long time, and it feels good, like that after all the chaos of the past year, everything’s finally clicking into place.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! <3 I hope you're all having an amazing Christmas Eve, if you celebrate <3 
> 
> comments and kudos let me know what you think


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